Understanding Title III of the Affordable Care Act

Posted Apr 16th, 2012 by Patient Assistance Team

The third section of the Affordable Care Act, “Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care, is an expansivesection that largely addresses the issue of Medicare. Millions of senior Americans rely on Medicare to provide themsupplemental health coverage. This section of the act seeks to protect and preserve the provisions already set inplace while also enhancing services and saving money.

Here is how it does that:

Title III attempts to save thousands of dollars in drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries by addressing the coveragegap, which is also known as the “donut hole.” Care providers and care sites are rewarded for improving the carethey deliver and reducing unnecessary medical patient errors. Furthermore, this section of the Affordable CareAct addresses the issue of access to health care for rural Americans and provides more coordinated services to thispopulation so that they too can receive quality and accessible health care.

Specifically, this section of the act incentivizes hospitals and doctors to keep patients healthy by linking paymentsto quality outcomes under the Medicare Program. In addition, this act makes improvements to the physician qualityreporting system, the physician feedback program and sets plans for a value-based purchasing program for skillednursing facilities and home health agencies.

The third section also sets out strategies for a national strategy to improve health care quality, the development ofnew patient care models and the assurance of beneficiary access to physician care and other services. Title III alsolooks to the future of Medicare and implements a series of standards and regulations that protect the long-termsustainability of the Medicare program. It attempts to accomplish this by ending the innumerable overpayments toinsurance companies that invariably cost American taxpayers billions of dollars every year. The Act saves costs byseeking to prevent the situations and environments that drive up the costs of healthcare while also keeping peoplehealthy.